This artist's rendition depicts the dwarf planet Eris, a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2003 that eventually unseated Pluto from its planetary status. Many astronomers
suspect other, even larger worlds may exist in the darkness at the far reaches of the solar system.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

December 10, 2015 - SPACE - Scientists and amateur astronomers have long been fascinated by the
possibility of a "Planet X" at the edge of the solar system that may
explain some apparent anomalies in the orbits of planets such as Neptune
and Uranus. However, in recent years, astronomers have largely ruled
out the possibility of a large, unseen planet far beyond the orbit of
Pluto.

Research groups from Sweden and Mexico have now submitted pre-prints of two research papers to arXiv (here and here) that claim to have discovered a massive object at the edge of the solar system. Using observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile during 2014 and 2015, the astronomers spied "a new blackbody point source" that appears to be moving in conjunction with the Alpha Centauri star system, about 4.3 light years from Earth.

The authors do not believe the new object is part of the Alpha Centuari system, however, because if it were that far away, such a star would have been bright enough to be seen before. Rather, they offer several explanations for the object, which one of the research teams named "Gna." Perhaps most notably, they suggest a "Super Earth" at a distance of about 300 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, or about six times further than Pluto is at its aphelion. Another explanation is a "super-cool" brown dwarf (too big to be a planet, too small to be a star) at about 20,000 AU from the Sun.

The ALMA Telescope’s antennas are seen under a starry night sky. Christoph Malin

The Giant Magellan Telescope is one of three large telescopes under development."Simple arguments convince us that this object cannot be an ordinary star. We argue that the object is most likely part of the solar system, in prograde motion, albeit at a distance too far to be detectable at other wavelengths," the authors of one paper, uploaded on December 8, 2015, to arXiv, conclude.

As word of the new research papers spread through the planetary science community on Wednesday, they were greeted largely with skepticism.

In a series of tweets, Mike Brown, a prominent planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology who specializes in the outer solar system, said, "Fun fact: if it is true that ALMA accidentally discovered a massive outer solar system object in its tiny tiny tiny field of view that would suggest that there are something like 200,000 Earth sized planets in the outer solar system. Which, um, no. Even better: I just realized that this many Earth-sized planets existing would destabilize the entire solar system and we would all die."

Other scientists noted that observations with NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which has expressly searched the outer solar system for large planets, have ruled out the possibility of a planet the size of Saturn or larger out to 10,000 AU, and a Jupiter-sized planet out to 26,000 AU.

As with all pre-prints, the new papers have yet to undergo scientific
peer review. The new data may be the result of some sort of image
artifacts in the ALMA data, or there may well be some other less
sensational explanation for what these scientists have seen. This is how
science at the frontier often proceeds. - Ars Technica.

December 10, 2015 - MOSCOW, RUSSIA - A huge blaze has erupted in a five-storied building on the
grounds of a machinery plant in northwest Moscow, producing flames
rising into sky.

The fire engulfed the area of some 15,000 square meters, Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

Sounds of explosions could be heard in one of the buildings engulfed in flames, Russia24 TV channel reports. An explosion of a gasoline tank on the ground floor of one of the buildings could be the cause of the blaze, Russian media report.

The flames can be seen from a distance of several kilometers with the representatives of emergency services describing the blaze as the biggest one in Moscow in a quarter of a century, local media report.

Witnesses reported the fire to the emergency services at 20:40 local time (17:40 GMT) with the first fire teams arriving at the scene five minutes later, Izvestia daily reports.

The blaze has soon spread to another two nearby five-story buildings. The firefighters have raised the complexity rating of the blaze several times and it has been eventually assigned the fourth rating out of five possible. Twenty-nine fire teams consisting of almost 100 firefighters are now combating the blaze.

The building, in which the fire has initially erupted, has collapsed, Interfax reports citing a sources in the emergency services.

There are no reports of casualties yet.

The head of the Moscow department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has arrived at the scene.

WATCH: Huge fire erupts at Moscow factory.

According to data issued by a mobile chemical laboratory that is also present at the scene, the dangerous emissions’ concentration around the fire zone has stayed within normal range so far.

The complexity rating of the blaze on the Moscow factory was lowered from the fourth to the second around 22:20 local time (19:20 GMT), the press service of the Moscow department of the Russian Emergency Ministry said on twitter. - RT.

A life-threatening superbug as viewed under a microscope. Picture: Supplied

December 10, 2015 - DENMARK -For years experts have warned there would come a day when antibiotics would cease being effective.

And it seems that day could be sooner than first thought after scientists discovered a new superbug that is not just impervious to the last line of defence medication, but has the ability to infect other bacteria.

But instead of destroying its virulent cousins this new strain of e.coli actually strengthens them by giving them the same antibiotic shield.

The unstoppable superbug was first found in China a few weeks ago.

Chinese and British scientists identified the first strain in a pig, then in raw pork meat and then in a small number of people.

Experts, while worried about the potential effect this discovery would have, hoped it would remain in China.

But this week those hopes were dashed when researchers in Denmark revealed they had found a similar strain in poultry from Germany as well as in a Danish man who had never travelled outside the country.

The superbug has also been found in Malaysia.

Further tests carried out on food samples from 2012-2014 by the Technical University of Denmark’s National Food Institute in Søborg and the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, found the deadly mutation was present.

This sparked calls from the head of NFI’s genomic epidemiology group, Frank Aarestrup, for other universities with similar databases to carry out testing, online health magazine STAT reported.

What makes this strain different from other e.coli is that it carries a gene named mcr-1.

It is thought this gene is what gives the strain its super-strength and the ability to infect other bacteria.

A poultry farm in Hefei,
eastern China's Anhui province is being inspected after the discovery of
a deadly and fast-spreading bacteria resistant to last-line
antibiotics. Picture: AFP

Dr Sanjaya Senanayake from ANU College of Medicine, Biology and
Environment told news.com.au the Danish discovery was a real worry.

“It was a problem when we heard they were found in China a couple of weeks ago but one had hoped that it would just be in China and wouldn’t spread too quickly but they have now found it in Denmark,” he said. “These are very bad superbugs to have.”

He explained while the risk to Australia was not as serious as other parts of the world, the rate at which the bacteria can spread, and how easily, could be devastating.

“We in Australia are a lot better off than other countries in terms of dealing with resistant bacteria but we are starting to see them come here,” Dr Senanayake said. “The issue of course is Australians travel and when people travel and visit other countries, they drink the water, eat food, walk around and you pick up the local bacteria.

“A number of studies have shown that travellers going to countries that have resistant bacteria in them will often come back with those resistant bacteria sitting in their bowels. If it doesn’t cause an infection then it’s OK and usually after a few months they lose that bacteria. But if it does it can cause serious problems.”

He explained the emergence of medical tourism also posed a risk adding that hospitals in general are known to have a higher proportion of superbugs.

If a person travelled to a country where the superbug had been found and underwent a procedure in a hospital, he said they had a greater risk of contracting the drug-resistant bug.

WHY IS THE EMERGENCE OF THIS SUPERBUG SUCH AS BAD THING?

Well,
it basically means the bacteria that causes common gut, urinary and
blood infections in humans, can now become “pan-resistant” to all
antibiotics currently available.

Not only that, but it will make some infections incurable, unless new kinds of antibiotics are developed.

Plus this new strain has the ability to make other bacteria from different families resistant, opening up another can of worms.

The discovery of a new superbug has prompted calls for more antibiotics to be developed. Picture: AFP Martin Bernetti

HOW COULD A POTENTIALLY DEADLY SUPER-RESISTANT BACTERIA EVOLVE?

One of the main theories is the overuse of antibiotics.

While there has been much discussion about the overprescribing of antibiotics by doctors, the bigger concern is the overuse in the agricultural industry.

Since the discovery in Denmark, experts from around the world have begun calling for a ban on the use of the antibiotic colistin in the agricultural industry.

Colistin is an old drug that was rarely used because of the emergence of newer drugs.

But since antibiotic resistance has increased, the need to preserve the drug in the fight against resistance has been imperative. So imperative that in 2012 the World Health Organisation designated it as critically important for human medicine, STAT reported.

Despite this, vast quantities of it have been used to help animals grow. In China, the drug is used more in animal production than it is on people, Timothy Walsh, a medical microbiologist from Cardiff University in Wales, told STAT.

“We needed to have definitive borders between antibiotics that are used in human medicine and those that are used in the veterinary sector,” he added.

Dr Senanayake told news.com.au while the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture is a major factor, so was the overprescribing and over use by humans.

“Doctors can prescribe antibiotics better, and we have to decide whether we need to give antibiotics, and if we do we should give a narrow antibiotic that doesn’t attack other bacteria,” he explained. “As patients or consumers we should also decide if we should be asking for an antibiotic at all.

“But one of the bigger factors is that animals consume a lot of antibiotics. In the US, for example, about 80 per cent of antibiotics used are used in animals not humans.

“They are being given to animals to prevent infection but also to promote growth. They think antibiotics help animals grow. This is actually an issue that is being looked at. Vets and doctors are trying to monitor and curb antibiotic use in the animal industry.”

CAN IT BE DEFEATED?

Researchers from the US and Denmark are trying to track its origin but it is thought it would most likely be China given its prevalent use of colistin.

The bulk of the 12,000 tonnes of colistin fed to livestock yearly around the world is used in China.

According to New Scientist, antibiotic growth promoters were banned in Europe and Denmark, ironically, was among the first to ban them.

But in 2013, the European Medicines Agency reported that polymyxins (the group of drug colistin belongs to) were the fifth most heavily used type of antibiotic in European livestock.

WHY NOT DEVELOP MORE ANTIBIOTICS?

Dr Senanayake explained research and development of new antibiotics had actually slowed over the last decade because there were so many already on the market.

But he said there has been a push in recent years by governments, in particular the US to find more.

“The US government is trying to provide incentives for pharmaceutical companies to make antibiotics,” he explained. “They are doing things like trying to reduce the regulatory burden for them.

“It has been estimated that by 2050 around 100 trillion dollars will be spent on antibiotic resistant bacteria and there will be about 300 million deaths.

“And even now in the US they say there are over two million illnesses attributed to antibiotic resistant bacteria and about 23,000 deaths.”

Dr Senanayake said while developing new antibiotics was one major part of tackling the resistance problem, less prescribing and less reliance was also needed as well as a major rethink about how they are used in the agricultural industry.

“The chief medical officer in the UK recognised antibiotic resistance as a catastrophic threat and wanted it put into the international register of civil emergencies along with terrorism and natural disasters,” he said. “I think that is a positive thing that top people in government are starting to recognise it as a big problem.

“And while it’s not the biggest problem in the world it certainly is an important problem.” - News.

This strange, otherworldly sight could just be a hoax, but similar optical illusions have been seen before. Lately in Canada on November 2, 2015.

This is not a common optical phenomenon that we’re seeing here. The appearance of a second sun is caused by optical refraction, as atmospheric particles bend light in unusual ways, creating mirages.

WATCH: Here a video of such a double sun in the sky of China in 2012.

I’m asking myself if this is an artifact of the lens. Or a fake? But I don’t think so.

I assume this incredible atmospheric phenomenon is created by particles of ice or something in the atmosphere aligned in such a way that they would refract the sunlight at that very small angle, but only in one direction, like a mirror.

It would require some fairly peculiar characteristics.

Could this be a giant sundog appearing just on one side of the ‘real’ sun?

A king of collection of the glow creating this haunting orb that makes us think there is an additional sun. - Strange Sounds.

A large fir tree fell on a house overnight and
killed an 60-year-old woman in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015,
as the Pacific Northwest was soaked by another night
of heavy rain. More
than 5 inches of rain have fallen on Portland since Sunday, and strong
winds have uprooted trees from the saturated ground. (AP Photo/Steve
Dipaola)

December 10, 2015 - PACIFIC NORTHWEST - Torrential rains pummeled parts of the Pacific Northwest early
Wednesday causing mudslides and flooding roads, leaving two women dead
in Oregon and sweeping seven people into a Washington river, where they
were rescued.

A large Douglas fir tree crashed into a Portland home early Wednesday, killing a 60-year-old woman who was in bed.

The tree, roughly 30 inches in diameter, was uprooted and sliced through the house, pinning the woman underneath.

Next door neighbor Sam Choumxay said he watched in horror as the tree
fell onto his neighbor's house with a thud. The tree top slammed into
two cars in Choumxay's driveway.

WATCH: Storms drench Pacific Northwest.

Choumxay said he ran outside, made it around the tree, and raced to his neighbors' front door.

"Is anybody hurt? Is anybody hurt? I just kept calling to them," he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, a woman drowned after her car became submerged
on a flooded road about 60 miles northwest of Portland in Clatskanie,
Oregon, The Oregonian reported.

Firefighters rescued a man they found standing on top of a car in
knee-to-waist deep water. They said the man drove himself and the woman
into high water where the road was closed near U.S. Highway 30 and Lost
Creek Road. The car then sank.

Responders found the woman dead at the scene.
More than 5 inches of rain have fallen on Portland since Sunday,
and strong winds have uprooted trees from the saturated ground. At
Sea-Tac Airport, where the official weather for Seattle is recorded, the
weather service says 2.13 inches of rain fell Tuesday. That beats the
previous Dec. 8 record of 1.61 inches.

In western Washington, seven people were swept into the Puyallup River from a riverbank homeless camp Wednesday morning.

Someone called 911 around 6:30 a.m. to report that people were in the
river up to their waists and chests beneath the State Route 512
overpass, The News Tribune newspaper reported.

Neighbors survey damage from a large fir tree
that fell on a house overnight and killed a 60-year-old woman in
Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, as the Pacific
Northwest was
soaked by another night of heavy rain. More than 5 inches of rain have
fallen on Portland since Sunday, and strong winds
have uprooted trees
from the saturated ground. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

Kevin McLeod, co-owner of the Riverview RV Park,
wades through floodwaters near a partially submerged car Wednesday,
Dec. 9, 2015, after he hooked up a pump to get
rid of water that flooded
RV's and other vehicles Wednesday morning in Puyallup, Wash. The
National Weather Service says wind and rain are
expected to slow
Wednesday, but snow may continue to fall in the mountains. (AP Photo/Ted
S. Warren)

A Columbia County Sheriff drives through a low
point on the road while others line up to go through, Wednesday, Dec. 9,
2015, in Portland, Or. Torrential rains pummeled
parts of the Pacific
Northwest for another night, causing mudslides and flooding roads,
leaving an Oregon woman dead after a tree fell onto her house and
sweeping
seven people into a Washington river, where they were rescued.
(Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian via AP)

A home is flooded along Oregon 47 from the
Nehalem River, Wednesday, Drec. 9, 2015, in Portland, Or. Torrential
rains pummeled parts of the Pacific Northwest for
another night, causing
mudslides and flooding roads, leaving an Oregon woman dead after a tree
fell onto her house and sweeping seven people into a Washington river,
where they were rescued. (Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian via AP)

All were pulled out of the river by Central Pierce Fire & Rescue by 8 a.m.
Nearby, a small RV park was evacuated Wednesday morning as floodwaters stranded several vehicles.

To the north, in Fall City, resident Eric West said flooding is typical
for the Snoqualmie Valley, but this year seems to be a little worse,
with three or four floods.

"Times are changing," West said. "Through the summer, we had the driest
summer on record and now we're making up for all the rain we missed in
the summer time."

The Red Cross opened four shelters Tuesday in Oregon and Washington and is supporting a fifth one.

The storm also led to power outages as well as some closed schools and post offices.

Officials with Puget Sound Energy say power was restored to more than
60,000 homes and businesses in western Washington on Wednesday. Crews
were still working to restore power to about 15,000 customers in the
area.

Garett Ricks, a manager of the Riverview RV
Park, carries a basket as he wades through floodwaters, Wednesday, Dec.
9, 2015, after he helped hook up a pump to get
rid of water that flooded
RV's and other vehicles Wednesday morning in Puyallup, Wash. The
National Weather Service says wind and rain are expected to
slow
Wednesday, but snow may continue to fall in the mountains. (AP Photo/Ted
S. Warren)

Workers survey damage from a large fir tree that
fell on a house overnight and killed a 60-year-old woman in Portland,
Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. as the Pacific
Northwest was soaked by
another night of heavy rain. More than 5 inches of rain have fallen on
Portland since Sunday, and strong winds have
uprooted trees from the
saturated ground. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

Branches cover a car from a large fir tree that
fell on a house overnight and killed a 60-year-old woman in Portland,
Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. as the Pacific
Northwest was soaked by
another night of heavy rain. More than 5 inches of rain have fallen on
Portland since Sunday, and strong winds
have uprooted trees from the
saturated ground. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

Johnson Creek swells near flood stage in
Portland, Ore., as the Pacific Northwest was soaked by another night of
heavy rain, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. The
Oregon Department of
Transportation says landslides and high water have closed parts of many
state highways. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

Portland General Electric officials said they restored power to about
55,000 customers since the first wave of the storm Monday morning.
Officials said power to the remaining 1200 customers would be restored
Wednesday evening.

Andy Haner, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle, said every major river in western Washington has reached or will reach a minor flood stage over the next few days.

"This is a pretty significant flood event," he said, due to what the service is calling a parade of storms.

WATCH: GOES-15 video of storms buffeting the Pacific Northwest.

In south central Washington, transportation officials closed a 45-mile
stretch of U.S. Route 12 after rains washed out a portion of the road
west of White Pass. Sheriff's deputies said they rescued several people
from their homes in the area Tuesday night and early Wednesday after
river flooding trapped them inside.

The Oregon Department of Transportation said landslides and high water closed parts of many state highways.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Department of Transportation
closed all lanes of northbound Interstate 5, the state's busiest
highway, in an area about 30 miles north of Portland due to a slide that
brought rocks and mud onto the road. Officials said the closure would
remain in effect at least overnight.

Sound Transit officials in Seattle said their Northline commuter trains
would remain out of operation Thursday due to extremely high soil
saturation levels. A slide shut down operations on Tuesday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee also declared a state of emergency
Wednesday due to damage from the ongoing storms that began Nov. 30.

High water was a problem along the Oregon Coast, where pooling caused
road closures, stranded cars and flooded neighborhoods. Heavy damage
from flooding led officials in Tillamook County to declare an emergency
to free up funds for repairs, county commission chair Tim Josi said.

"We've got road closures all over, landslides, culverts out, roads
washed out, buildings flooded. It's more than our county budget can
handle," Josi said, estimating that damage will top $1 million. An RV
community, a long term facility and households were evacuated.

Highway 101 north of Tillamook remains closed, he said. The city of
Wheeler also declared an emergency, Josi said, after the road cracked
open and damaged the water system. - Daily Mail.

This incredible lenticular cloud appeared in the sky of Macedonia on Dec. 2 2015.

December 10, 2015 - MACEDONIA - A giant lenticular cloud was seen floating in the sky over Gevgelija, Macedonia on December 2, 2015.

Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form in the troposphere, normally in perpendicular alignment to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds can be separated into altocumulus standing lenticularis (ACSL), stratocumulus standing lenticular (SCSL), and cirrocumulus standing lenticular (CCSL). Because of their shape, they have been offered as an explanation for some Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings.

This giant cloud really looks like a face wearing a long hat.

A good or bad omen? In any case awesome.

Formation
As air flows along the surface of the Earth, it encounters obstructions. These are man-made objects, such as buildings and bridges, and natural features, like hills, valleys, and mountains. All of them disrupt the flow of air into eddies. The strength of the eddies depends on the size of the object and the speed of the wind. It results in turbulence classified as ‘mechanical’ because it is formed through the “mechanical disruption of the ambient wind flow”. Where stable moist air flows over a mountain or a range of mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves may form on the downwind side. If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops to the dew point, moisture in the air may condense to form lenticular clouds. As the moist air moves back down into the trough of the wave, the cloud may evaporate back into vapor. Under certain conditions, long strings of lenticular clouds can form near the crest of each successive wave, creating a formation known as a "wave cloud." The wave systems cause large vertical air movement, enough that water vapor may condense to produce precipitation. The clouds have been mistaken for UFOs (or "visual cover" for UFOs), particularly the round "flying saucer"-type, because these clouds have a characteristic lens appearance and smooth saucer-like shape; also, because lenticular clouds generally do not form over low-lying or flat terrain, many people have never seen one and are not aware clouds with that shape can exist. Bright colors (called irisation) are sometimes seen along the edge of lenticular clouds. These clouds have also been known to form in cases where a mountain does not exist, but rather as the result of shear winds created by a front.

Flight
Pilots of powered aircraft tend to avoid flying near lenticular clouds because of the turbulence of the rotor systems that accompany them, but glider pilots actively seek them out. The precise location of the rising air mass is fairly easy to predict from the orientation of the clouds. "Wave lift" of this kind is often very smooth and strong, and enables gliders to soar to remarkable altitudes and great distances. The current gliding world records for both distance (over 3,000 km; 1,864 mi) and altitude (15,460 m; 50,721 ft) were set using such lift.

USGS earthquake locations of 4.5 magnitude or higher over the last 7 days.

December 10, 2015 - EARTH - The following constitutes several of the most noteworthy earthquakes to the planet over the last 2 days, as we continue to monitor the global seismic uptick.

5.7 earthquake strikes off Nadi and Ba, Fiji

USGS earthquake location.

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has struck off Fiji, seismologists say.

The earthquake, which struck at 1:58 a.m. local time on Thursday, was
centered about 262 kilometers (163 miles) northwest of Nadi, or 376
kilometers (234 miles) northwest of the capital Suva. It struck about 10
kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that some 5,000 people on
nearby islands may have felt "weak" shaking, and said that damage and
casualties were unlikely. The earthquake was not strong enough to
generate a tsunami, and no tsunami warnings are in effect.

The earthquake was initially measured at 6.2 before being downgraded to 5.7.

Strong earthquake hits near Escuintla in Guatemala

USGS shakemap intensity.

A strongly felt earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has
struck near the city of Escuintla in south central Guatemala, not far
from the capital, seismologists say.

The earthquake, which struck at 4:53 p.m. local time on Monday, was
centered next to Masagua about 12 kilometers (7 miles) southwest of
Escuintla, or 59 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Guatemala City. It
struck about 108.6 kilometers (67.5 miles) deep, making it a relatively
deep earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey
(USGS).

Witnesses in the region reported feeling strong shaking, causing
buildings to shake in Guatemala City, but there was no immediate word on
damages or casualties. There is no threat of a tsunami. - BNO News.

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake strikes Samara, Costa Rica

USGS shakemap intensity.

The USGS has reported a 4.6 magnitude earthquake has struck Samara, Costa Rica at 00:03:17 Thursday Dec. 10, 2015 GMT, at a depth of 18.59 km that was felt locally and in surrounding areas.

There were no significant injuries or damage reported at this point, Friendly Forecast will update this report as events unfold.

The above image displays the locations and intensity of the Samara, Costa Rica earthquake.

Earthquakes 5.0 to 6.0 may cause light damage to buildings and other
structures. In the past 24 hours, there have been one, in the last 10
days one, in the past 30 days one and in the last 365 days twenty-nine
earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater that has struck near. Every year
there are an estimated 1320 moderate earthquakes in the world. - ENT.